Friday evening after work, Dana and I didn’t feel like cooking so we headed toward Eden for some Vietnamese food. We wanted to be a bit more adventurous, so we decided to check out a new place. We spotted a big yellow grand-opening banner with the words “Pho Binh Dan” and “50% off” next to it. We almost gave it a try.

As we walked toward the restaurant, we heard karaoke-singing blasting. Inside, the place was filled with cigarette smell. Although it said “Pho Binh Dan,” the restaurant felt more like a drinking (nhau) spot. We thought we went to a wrong restaurant, but the waiter already greeted us. There were only two tables filled with drinkers enjoying some sort of BBQ or hotpot. He gave us a signal that we could sit at any empty table. We tried to pick a table with minimal karaoke noise, but there was no escape. He asked us if we wanted Pho. I nodded my head while thinking isn’t this a pho place? He handed us the menu and told us that he had to check in the back and see if they still have Pho. I looked at the menu and they offered nothing but Pho. The guy went to the back to the kitchen, went back and sat at one of the drinking table without even confirming us that they still had pho or not.

Five minute went by, another waitress who would qualify for a Hooter chick come up to take our order. At this point, I couldn’t take the loud music any more so I told her we’re going to go somewhere else quieter. She said, “No problem, we ran out of Pho anyway.” Our little adventure was not a success, so we went to our usual Thanh Truc for Bun Bo Hue.

I am not sure how they could run a business under such a lousy management, but I am pretty sure if this is the way they run their business, the grand opening will turn into grand closing soon.

Korean-American restaurant Kimchi House is located on Richmond highway, which is the road we take everyday. We drive by Kimchi House all the time and usually only one car parked in front of the place. As we were driving home and didn’t know what to eat so we decided to stop by and try it out. Kimchi House is a family-run restaurant. The place is small, neat, but featured all kind of strange, artsy decoration. I had Bul Go Gi (sliced sirloin beef marinated in special sauce). The beef was a bit too sweet, but tender. Dana ordered Ko Galbi and Doen Jang Chi Gae (mackerel marinated in spicy sauce and bean-paste stew with tofu and vegetables). The fish is a little bit plain (not spicy and salty enough). The food was not bad, but the price was cheap and the folks are so nice. I hope they’ll do well since it’s a fairy new joint.

The sky was rainy and gloomy and the traffic was jammed so we turned around to Ted’s Montana Grill for dinner. I had the burger and the beer deal and Dana had the sliders. The bison was not bad, but we didn’t like the kaiser bun. It was too soft and pasty. We split the burger and the sliders, but I ended up with three sliders and she had one. The sliders weren’t as tasty as Tonic‘s. We should have waited patiently through the traffic and went to Five Guys instead. At least we tried and I won’t want another burger for at least a month.

My two colleagues and I went to Tonic for a once-a-month staff lunch to catch up on things. I had Sliders (3 mini burgers with Cheffy’s secret sauce, cheddar cheese, pickles, onion strings) and they were banging. If the mini paddies weren’t dried, the burgers would have been perfect. The onion strings weren’t so bad either. While enjoying the burgers, I wish Dana was there. I like to share burgers with her. Will take her there next time.

Just dropped by Zorkafor’s SandVeg for a quick fix. Dana and I went there once before for lunch even though we didn’t know what the place was serving. After tried its char-broiled beef, it has becomes my favorite. The meat is fresh and its self-serve vegetable toppings, which include some exotic pickles, make the sandveg delicious. Although it’s quite messy to eat (especially when you put almost every toppings on the pocket), it’s quite a unique experience. I wanted to try a Falafel this time, but it ran out.

I took the Metro to Dana (my wife) workplace and went to Galae restaurant with her and her sister. They both work at USPTO so the place is near by. The Galae’s decoration is quite attractive. The menu is designed in a wooden box and the chopsticks were placed in a bamboo. The little details enhance the experience.

We started off with Pla Muek Tod (fried squids). The squids were a bit too small. The mango salad was decent. I wish it were hot. The seafood Panang was way too sweet and creamy. It didn’t quite suit my taste. The beef drunken noodle was probably the best out of the meal. The beef was tender and the noodle was not so sticky.

Not a bad place to have a nice lunch. Took quick nap on the train. Felt revived to get back to work, but needed a gallon of water.

After work we both starving and craving for some seafood, so we decided to skip cooking and go to a Chinese seafood buffet. Our friends recommended Blue Pearl, which located close by Springfield mall, over our favorite Green Olive, so we wanted to check it out.

First impression of the setting is much nicer than the ghetto style at Green Olive. The food selection is somewhat similar, but not at good. The main drawback is that the hot food aren’t kept hot and the cold food aren’t kept cold. So everything is pretty much warm, but the major disappointment is that the seafood isn’t as fresh as Green Olive’s.

I was disappointed that Blue Pearl didn’t have grill shrimp like Green Olives. I also really miss the ice cold, big, fresh, raw oysters at Green Olive. So we’ll stick to the ghetto buffet not only for the food, but also for the closeness to our apartment.

Don’t you love it when a restaurant’s business card printed its web address on it, but it doesn’t exist? ThaiPlaceDC.com takes you to nowhere. Anyhow, my wife and I just had lunch at Thai Place, which is about .3 miles from my office. We shared a crunchy duck roll, pad Thai and fried tilapia with salad. The duck roll had a heavy sweet taste; the pad Thai’s noodle was hard; and the fried tilapia was just passable. The place, however, was packed. I assume that the cheap prices attracted customers.

I’ve been hooked on GoldCoast’s Maine lobster and blue crab spreads with crackers. A glass of cocktail to complement the spreads is our little treat after a long day at work. Life isn’t so bad.

My sister-in-law left us two admissions for IKEA’s annual crayfish party before she and her husband went to Mexico for their honeymoon. Yesterday my wife and I attended and cleaned up about five or six plates of jumbo crayfish served cold in Swedish style. The crayfish are so big and meaty that they tasted as good as the lobster tails. The meatballs were also delicious. It was definitely worth $10 per person. The only thing that missing was a pitcher of beer. They did served non-alcohol sparkling wine, which was not so bad.

Although the party was not too crowded, half of the people are Asians. I thought I ate a lot. A Chinese couple sat next to us must have 10 full plates, and they were mad skinny. We couldn’t keep up with them. We finished up the party with a blazing apple pie and a cup of Swedish coffee. Walked around IKEA to digest our food and felt in love with some of its kitchen, bedroom setups. We can’t wait to get our own home.

Big thanks to the sister-in-law and her husband for a wonderful treat. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the party next year.